34: Sleeping in the first class? The teacher was furious!

Early the next morning, the morning bell of Tianqiong War God Academy rang, its dull and long resonance startling a flock of Spiritual Cranes perched on the edge of the floating island.

Inside Lecture Hall No. 1 of the Freshman Teaching Building, there wasn't a single empty seat left.

This was the first mandatory theoretical course for this year's Special Recruitment Class—"The Paradox of Martial Arts and Genetic Fusion."

And the instructor in charge of this course was none other than the academy's infamous "Devil Instructor," Lei Hu. People gave him the nickname "Tiger Lei."

Tiger Lei lived up to his name; he was over two meters tall with a face full of rough flesh, wearing a tight tank top that looked like it could burst at any moment from his muscles, and both arms were covered in tattoos of purple lightning patterns. Not only was he a Great Master of theory, but he was also a genuine Martial Arts Grandmaster, with a temper that was directly proportional to his strength.

It was said that a student from the previous year was caught secretly messaging his girlfriend in class; Tiger Lei discovered him, crushed the phone into powder on the spot, and hung the student from the ceiling fan to spin for the rest of the lecture.

At this moment, Tiger Lei was standing on the podium, hands propped on the desk, his sharp gaze scanning the face of every freshman.

Every student his gaze passed over straightened their back, not daring to even breathe too loudly, for fear of being targeted by this beast of a teacher.

"Martial Arts is about cultivating a breath of Qi! Genetics is about changing one's fate!"

Tiger Lei's voice was like a great bronze bell, making the classroom windows hum and vibrate. "Many of you think that getting into the War God Academy makes you the chosen ones? That you can just relax now? Let me tell you, in my eyes, you're all just a bunch of unweaned babies! You're defective products waiting to be filtered out!"

"My classroom has only one rule: absolute focus!"

"Anyone who dares to slack off in my class, I'll let them know the meaning of a 'societal beatdown'!"

The classroom was deathly silent.

Even Xiao Fan, sitting in the front row and usually full of himself, was sitting upright and still, notebook in hand, eyes focused intently on the blackboard. Although he had the Old Man in the Ring giving him private lessons, he still maintained a thirst for knowledge regarding this kind of academic theory—after all, he wanted to surpass that damned roommate of his.

However.

In this classroom filled with a chilling and academic atmosphere, within the high-pressure Aura that Tiger Lei had just built up.

An extremely discordant, rhythmic, and highly piercing sound abruptly rang out.

"Zzz... Zzz... Snort... Zzz..."

At first, the sound was relatively subtle, like the low-frequency idling of some engine, but it quickly became brazen, even carrying a slight, cheerful whistling tone.

The expressions of the entire class instantly became incredibly colorful.

Everyone turned their heads at the same time, looking toward that "prime spot" by the window in the very last row of the classroom.

There, a person was seen slumped over.

Gu Fan.

Not only was he asleep, but he had even used two thick copies of "General History of the Federation" to stack into a comfortable pillow, with an open textbook covering his face to block out the slightly blinding sunlight from the window. His entire person exuded a sense of complete relaxation, as if he were on vacation in his own ocean-view villa.

The students sitting next to him were already turning green with fear, desperately moving their chairs aside, trying to distance themselves from this death-defying warrior.

On the podium, a vein throbbed on Tiger Lei's forehead.

Then two, then three.

A terrifying Grandmaster-level Aura erupted from him, and the atmosphere of the entire classroom instantly froze.

"Good... very good."

Tiger Lei laughed out of extreme anger, the half-piece of chalk in his hand crushed to powder. "So this is the only one with a double special recruitment slot this year? That legendary Young Master of the Gu Family?"

"It seems the rumors aren't false; he really is a piece of trash that can't be helped up!"

"Since you love sleeping so much, I'll help you wake up!"

Tiger Lei casually grabbed a brand-new piece of chalk from the box.

Although it was just an ordinary piece of chalk, in the hands of a Grandmaster, it was the deadliest hidden weapon.

Tiger Lei flicked his wrist, infusing it with internal strength.

"Whoosh—!"

That white piece of chalk instantly transformed into a bolt of white lightning, tearing through the air and creating a piercing sonic boom as it flew straight toward the space between Gu Fan's eyebrows in the back row.

With this strike, although Tiger Lei controlled his strength so as not to kill, it would definitely cause a large lump on Gu Fan's forehead and give him a concussion, leaving him in the infirmary for three days and nights.

The entire class gasped.

Some girls even covered their eyes, not daring to watch the brutal scene that was about to follow.

Xiao Fan, sitting in the front, didn't look back, but his sharp perception caught the trajectory of that chalk.

"Hmph, serves him right."

Xiao Fan sneered inwardly, [Sleeping in Tiger Lei's class is simply asking for death. Gu Fan, your good luck has run out. This strike isn't fatal, but it's enough to make you lose all face.]

The chalk crossed dozens of meters and arrived in front of Gu Fan in the blink of an eye.

However.

Just as the chalk was less than ten centimeters away from Gu Fan's messy hair.

Gu Fan, who was counting malice points in his dreams and dreaming of swimming in a mountain of them, suddenly heard that pleasant System notification in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Detected malice of 'disappointment and intentional corporal punishment' from instructor 'Lei Hu'.]

[Nature of Malice: Lack of professional ethics, violent teaching, attempting to wake a student through physical means (may cause concussion).]

[Malice Rank: B-Rank (A Grandmaster's rage; though held back, it is still not something a Mortal can withstand).]

[Backlash triggered! Multiplier: Seventy times!]

[Random effect generating... Detected attack carrier is 'chalk', and the perpetrator's mouth is wide open while roaring.]

[Congratulations on selecting: Knowledge Boomerang (Auto-Navigation · Precision Feeding Edition).]

[Effect Description: Since the teacher enjoys throwing chalk so much, please let the teacher taste the flavor of knowledge himself. After all, teaching by example must start with 'eating'.]

In the next second.

A scene that defied the Laws of physics occurred.

That piece of chalk, which was originally unstoppable and enough to pierce through a wooden board, suddenly seemed to hit an invisible air wall in front of Gu Fan.

It didn't fall to the ground, nor did it shatter.

Instead, in an extremely bizarre manner, it drew a perfect, smooth "S-shaped" curve in the air.

It was as if an invisible hand had grabbed its tail and forced it to turn around.

"Swoosh—!"

The speed of the chalk after turning around was actually faster than when it came! It even generated a wisp of faint smoke due to friction with the air!

It whistled back toward the podium, flexibly bypassing the head of a student who had stood up to answer a question, and even performed a high-difficulty maneuver in the air similar to a fighter jet's barrel roll.

On the podium, Tiger Lei's mouth was wide open, preparing for a second round of roaring: "Get the hell out—"

Before the word "of here" could leave his mouth.

That white lightning bolt accurately and unerringly shot straight into his wide-open mouth.

And the force was so great that it directly struck his uvula.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough—!!!"

Tiger Lei's roar instantly turned into violent coughing and gagging.

Although the chalk didn't cause him any substantial damage, that burst of dry dust instantly exploded in his throat. That taste was a hundred times worse than eating a handful of sand.

"Cough, cough! Who! Cough, cough, cough! Who plotted against me!"

Tiger Lei clutched his neck, his face turning the color of pig liver, and tears were even forced out of his eyes.

He, a dignified Martial Arts Grandmaster, actually had a piece of chalk thrown into his mouth? This was simply a humongous humiliation!

The entire class was silent.

Everyone's mouths were wide open as they watched this magical scene.

They had seen it clearly just now; that chalk had turned around and flown back on its own! It was as if it had GPS navigation installed!

In this suffocatingly awkward atmosphere.

The culprit was finally awakened by the commotion around him.

Gu Fan dizzily raised his head from the pile of books, his face still imprinted with red marks from the pages, and saliva still hanging from the corner of his mouth.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked around blankly.

"What's wrong? Is class over?"

Gu Fan yawned, stretched, and then saw Tiger Lei on the podium, coughing earth-shatteringly with a beet-red face.

"Eh? Instructor Lei?"

Gu Fan blinked and asked loudly with a look of concern:

"Teacher, are you hungry? Why are you eating chalk?"

"Although the saying goes, 'The silkworm till death spins its silk, the candle till it turns to ash sheds its tears,' you can't eat chalk dust as a meal. It's bad for the lungs; you'll easily get pneumoconiosis."

As Gu Fan spoke, he generously pulled a half-eaten bag of crispy noodles from his desk and held it up.

"How about... I treat you to some noodles? Don't be so hard on your own body."

"Pfft—"

A girl in the front row couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

Immediately after, the entire classroom was like a lit firecracker, exploding with uncontrollable laughter.

Although everyone was very afraid of Tiger Lei, this scene was just too hilarious.

A generation's Grandmaster, nearly choked to death by his own chalk on the podium, and then being treated by a student as if he were eating chalk because he was hungry.

Tiger Lei finally caught his breath.

Hearing Gu Fan's words and then the laughter of the entire class, he felt a surge of blood rush to his head, and his skull felt like it was about to be blown off.

"Gu Fan—!!!"

Tiger Lei let out an ear-splitting roar, his muscles trembling. "Get the hell out! Right now! Immediately!"

"And! Today's homework, copy it a hundred times! If you miss a single word, I'll crush your bones!"

Gu Fan shrunk his neck with an innocent face.

"If I have to go out, I'll go out. Why are you shouting so loud?"

Gu Fan muttered as he slowly packed his bag, not forgetting to look back and advise as he walked, "Teacher, really, eat less chalk. That stuff not only tastes bad, but it also easily causes stones..."

"GET OUT!!!"

Tiger Lei grabbed the blackboard eraser and was about to throw it.

But with his hand halfway in the air, he suddenly froze.

He looked at the eraser in his hand, covered in a thick layer of chalk dust, and then at Gu Fan, who was looking at him with a mischievous grin.

An inexplicable chill, originating from a Martial Artist's sixth sense, made him stop his movement abruptly.

The bizarre trajectory of the chalk earlier was still fresh in his mind.

If he threw this blackboard eraser... what if it also flew back and got stuffed into his mouth... the image was too "beautiful," and Tiger Lei didn't dare think about it.

He slammed the eraser onto the table in resentment, causing the podium to crack.

"You're tough! I'll remember this debt!" Tiger Lei growled through gritted teeth.

Gu Fan shrugged and sauntered out of the classroom.

As soon as he stepped out the door, the System notifications in his mind rang incessantly like a harvest report.

[Ding! Detected extremely suppressed anger from 'Lei Hu'. malice points +500!]

[Detected 'schadenfreude' and 'admiration' from the entire class (except Xiao Fan). malice points +100!]

[Current malice bar progress: 100%!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining one 'Malice Blind Box' draw! Would you like to open it?]

Gu Fan leaned against the hallway wall, in a great mood.

"Open it! Definitely open it! This is what they mean by 'the early bird gets the worm'."

[Opening...]

[Congratulations on obtaining a special one-time consumable item: 'Teacher, Please Shut Up' Silence Sticker (Enhanced Edition).]

[Item Description: This is not just a sticker; it is the ultimate rebellion of a student against a nagging teacher. After use, you can designate one target (limited to the teacher profession or those who love to lecture others), causing whatever they want to say over the next ten minutes to come out as "Aba Aba."]

[Note: This item ignores Realms, ignores defense, and is Karma-Law locked.]

Gu Fan looked at the cartoon sticker with a red "X" on it in his virtual inventory and smiled even more happily.

"Good stuff."

"Instructor Lei, I hope you can be gentler in class in the future. Otherwise... I think everyone would be very happy to hear a Grandmaster version of 'Aba Aba'."

Meanwhile, inside the classroom.

Although Gu Fan had left, that eerie atmosphere still hadn't dissipated.

Xiao Fan stared fixedly at Gu Fan's departing back, the pen in his hand snapped in two.

"A coincidence... it must be a coincidence!"

Xiao Fan kept telling himself, "That chalk might have encountered some kind of air vortex? Or perhaps Instructor Lei made a mistake himself?"

The Old Man in the Ring remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a faint sigh:

"Little Fan, how can there be such coincidences in this world?"

"In that moment just now, I felt a hint of... Law fluctuations. Although very weak, the level was extremely high."

"This Gu Fan is probably really not some trash. He's playing the pig to eat the tiger."

"And... this pig might even eat tigers."

Hearing this, the Battle Intent in Xiao Fan's eyes grew even stronger.

"Playing the pig to eat the tiger? Very well."

"I like this kind of high-difficulty opponent. If he were too weak, how could he be worthy of being my, Xiao Fan's, stepping stone?"

"Gu Fan, just you wait!"

...Gu Fan didn't hear Xiao Fan's inner thoughts, and even if he had, he would have just laughed it off.

He was currently humming a small tune, walking toward the academy's cafeteria.

"Being kicked out is just right; I'll catch the first wave of mealtime."

"I wonder how the food at this War God Academy is. Is there any 'Malice Over-Rice' that makes people feel happy after eating it?"

Gu Fan rubbed his stomach, feeling it was empty—not just a craving for food, but also an anticipation for a new round of malice point harvesting.

After all, a place like a cafeteria has always been a place of conflict.

Cutting in line, fighting for seats, and those self-righteous hedonistic disciples... those are all walking experience packs.